The Second Dream
by WonderlandInvader
Summary: AiW Oneshot that gives a little more background on the events prior to the movie...why everything was the way it was when it was.


This dream is nothing like the other one I've been having here of late… I'm in the same "world", so to speak, but something about it is different. Being in another part of this place is one; in the first dream, I was wandering aimlessly in a dark wood, playing croquet with the malicious Red Queen, and all manner of strange things. Not to mention the talking, immaterializing "Cheshire Cat" that grins so wide that it takes up almost all of his head!

No, this second dream is something new altogether. I'm in a seemingly never-ending field of gorgeous wildflowers, the sun is shining brightly, but it isn't very hot, and I can feel a gentle breeze carrying the sound of other children's laughter to the hilltop where I sit.

I slowly rise from my seat and race down the slope to a forest on the other side of a small creek. The trees rush past as I practically fly down a thin path to a clearing. More flowers surround me as I whirl around in an attempt to locate the source of the giggling I heard only a moment ago.

That's when it starts; a little boy's voice is calling my name, "Say, did you hear that? Do you think it was her?! Alice! Alice? Alice, where are you Alice? Alice…?" he sounds worried, though I haven't the slightest idea of who he is.

It isn't Hamish Ascot, thank goodness! It would've been a nightmare if that snot-nosed, pea-brained little brat was here! Ugh, I can't even stand the thought of him!

The voice continues, along with a rather squeaky girl joining in conversation, "Mally, where could she be?! She was supposed to be here by now! I do hope she's alright… should we send for McTwisp to fetch her?"

"Relax Tarrant. She'll be here any minute, be patient! She's never been here before, remember?" the girl tries to reassure him. Of course, that only makes it worse.

"She could be lost! What if the Bandersnatch gets to her… or what if the Cards or the Knave finds her before we do? Then what?!"  
>Another voice answers this time, "Neither of 'em 'as the bloomin' brains t' be fiddlin' with her, lad! An' besides that, they're on the other side of the desert, they don't even know she's 'ere to begin with." the other boy objects.<p>

"Thackery is right. And, on the other hand, the Knave would be thought of as very ungrateful if he laid a hand on Alice. She saved him from decapitation not too long ago. That wretched Red Queen almost had the poor thing beheaded for stealing her tarts; the bloody things never had even left the table! Lucky for Ilosovic, Alice stepped in and pointed that out." the girl, Mally, adds.

I saved someone's life? I don't rec- oh! It was in the other dream that I had; I remember now!

Three years ago, my dream was very different…I was in a very crowded courtroom, and there was a trial being held for something.

The young Red Queen came thundering in, screaming about stolen tarts, of all things! Amongst all the language she was throwing about, she called for the prisoner guilty of causing this ruckus. Everyone in the room turned about to see two of the Card Guards, the 7 and the 4, drag in a boy who couldn't be much older than myself! He was dressed in what appeared to be a knight's uniform, but from what I heard from the people around me, he was only a knave. He was rather tall and long in the rest of his limbs as well.

The boy did not resist being hauled in by the monstrous playing cards; he was almost completely limp until they dropped him to the hard floor beneath. He rose to his knees, barely able to support himself; it wasn't hard to defer why. Dried blood and bruises covered his face like a gruesome mask. I could see how thin he was and the dark circles under his weary, dusty brown eyes made him look so pitiful compared to the well-off people in the gathered congregation. I think he would've been rather handsome if he wasn't so miserable!

I could barely strain to hear his low, raspy voice, "Your…majesty… _please_, I beg of you… spare my life! I've done _nothing_ wro-"

"_**SILENCE**_!" she boomed, "I _**KNOW**_you stole my tarts, Stayne. And for that, your punishment is to lose your _**head**_!"

How dreadful! All this commotion over tarts! As I glanced around the room, I realized I was the only person in sight that wasn't rejoicing in some way. These people were throwing a party because some poor, unfortunate person was going to be beheaded; and it was a young child no less!

I became sorely angry, and I made a point to let it be known, "_**YOU**_ are all _**barbarians**_! _**Lunatics**_! You're going to _**kill**_ an innocent _**child**_ over stupid little _**TARTS**_?!" I bellowed at anyone that could hear me, which was everyone in sight. Somehow, I'd managed to start growing again, so that I towered over all the courthouse's occupants. From nearly twenty feet high, I could scarcely see their facial expressions, but I knew they were utterly terrified.

The Knave somehow managed a weak chuckle, and his eyes briefly met with mine as I stormed up to the judge's bench where the Red Queen was perched. I continued my rant from there, "And as for _**YOU**_, you fat, pasty, pompous, no-brained, big-headed _**tyrant**_! You ought to be _**ashamed**_ of yourself and your subjects for allowing such idiocy in your kingdom! That you ought!" I was rather surprised at myself, for I was _**NEVER**_ allowed to speak that way to anyone back home, much less to a queen!

She was just as dumbfounded as me, and just as speechless. The whole place fell silent, so much so that you could've heard a pin drop from a mile away. I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks, and my body shuddered with unreleased fury.

I turned on my heel to face the crowd behind me, when I suddenly realized why everyone had become so quiet; I was back to my normal size. I guess letting out all that pent up anger had shrunk me, which wasn't a good thing in this case.

I also noticed something else that was rather peculiar when I had spun around; on a nearby table, there was a plate of heart shaped tarts, "_You __**CANNOT**__ be serious! The darn things have been here the whole time!_" I mumbled under my breath. I casually strode over to them, picked the plate up, and sauntered over to the monarch's seat, "Looking for something, your highness?" I remarked smugly.

She stared at them for a moment, trying to grasp the situation at hand. I was expecting her to be overjoyed that I found the measly little pastries, but her reaction wasn't at all pleasant, "Why you little _**scoundrel**_! _**You**_ knew they were there this whole time! I'll just bet you had a hand in stealing them too! This girl is hereby charged with helping burglarize my tarts! _**OFF**_ _**WITH**_ _**HER**_ _**HEAD**_!" she cried out.

The enormous guards tried to grab me, but I slipped between them and headed straight to the door. As big and bulky as they were, they had quite a time getting untangled and trying to get after me.

Before I could reach the exit, I remembered the Knave of Hearts lying on the ground, completely defenseless against being trampled by the giant cards. Dashing by the prison warden, my hand snatched the handcuff key right off his belt loop and threw it into my dress pocket. I reached for the boy's hand and pulled him off the floor as best I could, "Can you run?"

He tried his hardest to nod and give me a barely audible reply, "Y-yes… can you keep up?" he had a confident smirk on his face. He may have been physically crushed, but his spirit was obviously unscathed.

"Can _you_?" And with that, we both made a mad dash for the door, narrowly escaping the grip of several of the queen's henchmen.

Once outside the walls of the courthouse, we were as good as gone to our pursuers. For someone so horribly malnourished and badly beaten, the Knave could run like the wind! I guess his extremely long legs were responsible for that.

We sped through the yards of the castle, dodging guards and ducking through the gates to our final escape. As soon as the walls of the dreary, dungeon-like building were out of sight, the two of us dropped in the soft green meadow we had fled into.

He gulped in air like one would water if you had been in a desert for a substantial amount of time. The Knave's still cuffed hands rested on his chest, and then his bony fingers ran through his scruffy, dark hair, pushing it out of his eyes, "I hope you're alright… I wouldn't want anyone hurt on my account." he nervously turned his gaze to meet my wandering eyes.

"Oh no, I'm fine. Tell me, what is your name?" I requested. Our previous situation had cut out our time to be properly introduced, "My name is Alice Kingsleigh."

He propped up on his elbow, and I could sense that he was beginning to warm up to me somewhat, "Ilosovic Stayne. I'm the Knave of Hearts."

"I see, but judging by your uniform, I thought you were the Knight." I hoped I hadn't offended him, for he looked grimly at the ground when I mentioned his rank.

"I'm not the _**Knight**_ of Hearts, not _**yet**_ anyhow. That's my father's position at the moment, but when he retires, I will take his place… If Iracebeth doesn't have my head before I can escape. Plus, I've still got a few years of training to go through." Ilosovic didn't seem too thrilled by that prospect, but I could see he was eager to become the Knight, "So, enough about me, what about _**you**_, Alice?"

"Well, I'm no knight, or queen, or anything like that. I'm just an ordinary girl I suppose; nothing much to make a conversation of…" I felt a little sulky; he had a great many adventures to tell of, I would imagine, being a knave and all. I however, had little to share with him.

"You appear rather _EXTRAORDINARY_ to me. Most girls your age couldn't handle all of what you've been through today with nearly as much composure and level-headedness, I almost couldn't handle it myself!" he smiled lightly.

"Well, thank you…" my cheeks were turning a rosy shade of red.

The short and rather awkward silence that followed was suddenly shattered by the sound of armor clanking together and hooves clattering on the hard-packed dirt path. We both froze in terror, not knowing whether to run or to stay put and pray they didn't find us.

Making as little noise as possible, I wriggled closer to him, "_Ilosovic, what do we do now? We're trapped_!" I whimpered.

His hand wiped away the tears that were beginning to form at the corners of my eyes, and he brushed loose strands of my wild golden locks behind my ears, "It's alright Alice, I won't let them get you. You saved my life, that's exactly what I owe you. You're safe." he tried his best to comfort me.

I glanced at his wrists, still bound together, "How will you protect me if your hands are still cuffed?"

"_Oh_… Do you by chance have the key?"

"Yes." I silently reached into my pocket and pulled the key out where he could see it. He held out his hands, his gloves were stained with grime and blood and they were torn in several places. What little skin I could see under the cloth wasn't any better; in fact it looked much worse. I reached out to steady his hands, gently grasping the metal clamps.

"_Ah_!" both of his arms became rigid and tense when I touched him; he gritted his teeth. That's when I saw the red liquid seeping out from under the iron shackles.

"_Oh my!_ Are you alright? I hope I didn't hurt you!" I apologized.

"No, no… it's not your fault. These things are _**entirely**_ too tight, that's why I'm bleeding so much. _**PLEASE**_ hurry and get them off." his eyes that were bright and happy five minutes ago were now plagued with pain and anguish. I gingerly inserted the key, turned it, and set my new friend free of his bindings. He released a long sigh of relief, and laid back down in the tall grass.

"Is that better?" I whispered, leaning over to pluck his feathery, dark hair out of one eye. He smiled up at me and nodded, grateful to be finally unrestrained.

"Alice, I don't know how to thank you… I-" he nervously kissed my hand, so much like a knight of the fairytales I often read. I'm no princess, but I seemed to be in the place of one in this dream; this fairytale of my own mind.

I must've been blushing redder than an apple! I knew I was smiling almost from ear to ear, "You're welcome, Ilosovic…" Our eyes met for only a brief moment, but to this day I can still feel his stare deep down in my mind. At first, I thought that would be a good thing to remember him by when I woke from my dream… But all that would be changed forever in a matter of seconds…

The next thing I knew, there was a flurry of metal clanking together and horses were snorting and pawing at the ground all around us. The two of us bolted upright, shaking like the leaves on some trees nearby. We were surrounded by Red Guards; there was no escape this time… or so I thought.

Ilosovic leapt up from the ground, wielding a sword that I hadn't even noticed at his side, and began giving the oversized deck of cards a lashing that none of them would soon forget! I did all I could to stay out of the way and get to a safer hiding place, darting over the fallen soldiers and into the bushes. Although I knew I should've done something, anything, to help him, huddling in the woods like a coward was all I could bring myself to do. It was a struggle to not jump up and run farther away from the skirmish than I already was.

Not long after my hasty retreat, a reinforcement battalion arrived with the wretched Red Queen in tow. The brutes managed to seize the Knave, even with all the wriggling and twisting he was doing. He thrashed even more violently as she came closer to him, snarling and growling all the while. Ilosovic seemed less like a twelve-year old boy in the grip of monsters and more like a caged animal fighting for freedom, "Do what you want with me, but you lay _**one**__**hand**_on Alice and I _**swear**_on my father's honor, I'll _**kill**_you _**myself**_!" he proclaimed loud enough for people in the next country to hear him quite plainly, (_if this was a country, anyhow_).

She seemed rather amused by his outburst, and had the audacity to lay her hand on him, "Silly little Ilosovic! _**I**_wasn't going to put _**my**_hands on her," she tousled his hair, leaving her slender fingers intertwined with his inky black curls, "the _**guards**_will take care of that! Which leaves _**you**_to me…" Her eyelashes fluttered and the teenage royal came dangerously close to crossing the line! Had Queen Iracebeth moved an inch nearer to him, I would've forgotten all about being frightened and gone down there to teach her a lesson; we may have just met, but I shan't let anyone mess with him. _**ESPECIALLY**_ not her!

Fortunately for her, he was disgusted by her proposition and reeled back as far as his body would allow, "You must be _**mad**_! I wouldn't be with you if my very _**LIFE**_ depended on it, you horrid little _**witch**_!" Ilosovic raged. His eyes burned with unsheathed revulsion and hatred for the flirtatious monarch.

"_**Your**_ life isn't the only one in our hands… surely you haven't forgotten your companion…" she added coldly, obviously placing a threat on my head as well.

His pupils narrowed with fear, "_No_… leave her be! She's done nothing!" he cried in horror.

"It's either you or her Stayne, choose wisely."

He hesitated; his eyelids dropped and hid his pale irises as they began to fill with tears. Was he considering turning me in to her; betraying me?! With his voice shaking, he responded, "Take _**me**_, not Alice. Do whatever you want, I don't care, just leave her out of this…" I could scarcely hear him with so much distance betwixt us. Tears glistened like pink-tainted diamonds as they mixed with his wounds and rolled down his cheeks, soaking his gray tunic.

Poor Ilosovic! He was in all this trouble because of me! I wish there had been something I could've done to save him from her grasp, but alas, no such thing was made possible.

"How _gentlemanly_ of you to trade your life for the little lady! Surely you would make an _**excellent**_Knight!" Iracebeth jeered, harshly jerking his face towards hers, "Your father, the magnificent White Knight, would _love_ this heroism so! 'Tis a shame though, that you've done it for no reason…_**Guards**_! Find the girl and bring her to me… _**NOW**_, or I shall have all your heads!" she demanded.

Ilosovic began to fight their grip once more, even more vehemently than the last time, "_**No**_! You can't have her! I won't let you! Let go of me you oafs!" he roared, desperately trying to flee from the warriors' hold.

For one last time, our eyes locked, with tears blurring our final goodbye, "_**RUN**__**ALICE**_! _**GO**_, _**NOW**_… _WHILE_ _YOU_ _STILL_ _CAN_!"

I paused only briefly, reluctant to leave him to fend for himself, then I fled in the opposite direction. The water building up in my eyes corrupted my vision, causing me to run blindly through the forest around me. To make matters worse, it was extremely dark and the trees often reached out to grab me with their branches or trip me with roots protruding from the ground. Finally giving up, I threw myself off the trail and curled up in the hollow of a towering oak, "Oh, what does it matter! It's only a dream, even if they do catch me, I'll wake up before they can do anything to me… _won't I_?" I sobbed.

If this was a dream, why did I feel so awful about abandoning Ilosovic? Why was it all so realistic? Why couldn't I just _**WAKE**_ _**UP**_?!

I remained in this position for quite some time, still weeping for his freedom, and mine as well. Then, a sudden rustling in the bushes startled me, "Who's there? Show yourself!" I'd had enough surprises for that night, I was in no mood for anymore.

"Why, look here! _Alice_! How wonderful to see you again!" an all too familiar voice cooed. Appearing from nowhere, the Cheshire Cat became material in front of me. His eerie blue-green gaze seemed to brighten at the sight of me huddled in a mess beneath him, "How has your trip been so far dearie? You look a little rough this evening, if you don't mind my saying so… you haven't run into the Red Queen, have you?!" the over-sized tabby cat seemed genuinely concerned, now that she'd been brought up.

I sniffled, and sitting up a bit straighter, I replied, "Yes, I _**have**_met that nasty hag! It was a rather unpleasant visit, and I have no desire to get to know her any further! Why, she kidnapped the Knave of Hearts right before my eyes, just because I saved him from losing his head! All over those blasted…"

"…tarts? I know, I know. She's got a bad habit of "_misplacing_" them and blaming someone else for it. I'm surprised she has anyone left in her court because of it, as kill-crazy as she is!" he chuckled. I didn't find it a bit amusing…

"Seems to me she's just plain crazy! What on Earth is wrong with that girl?!" I attempted to dry my tears, but they just kept flowing out.

"Who knows? If you ask me, I say it runs in the family… all of the Queens have been just as loony if not loonier than her, in my lifetime anyhow. Her little sister isn't so bad though, quite the opposite actually, Mirana is the White Queen you know."

"Oh… that's nice." I didn't really care about any of this nonsense; I just wanted to get home and away from all this guilt and pain. I prayed that I would wake up and forget every bit of this nightmare. Of course, no one is _**that**_ fortunate… not by a long shot.

I could feel the Cat's warm body come in contact with my pale skin, making goosebumps rise all over me. His enormous smile turned upside down and his ears seemed to droop, "I'm terribly sorry luv, I feel awful for the poor lad too. 'Tis a pity that his young life is going to be wasted with that evil brat; no one deserves a fate that harsh, not even the worst of criminals."

Well, at least someone agrees with me!

"_I could've saved him… I could've done something to save him…_" I stroked his blue and gray fur in an effort to soothe my aching heart. He purred contentedly, rolling onto his back, and his grin returned.

It felt like we'd sat there for hours; me holding Chessur as I would my own cat, Dinah, and him lying like a rug back home (_I didn't know the habits of rugs here; that's why I added that last bit_).

Home…

My weary mind kept wandering back to the place I longed to be; our gardens, my bed, my father's study, all of it. My eyes, still red and stinging from crying, failed to notice the scene change from the moonlit forest to my night-darkened bedroom. The trees, grass and Cat dripped away like paint being washed off of its canvas and became a bed, chest-of-drawers, a wardrobe and my mirror.

I woke with a start, breathing heavily and in a cold sweat. Hugging my knees to my chest, I rocked back and forth, reminding myself it was only a dream… my imagination had run away with me again. Even though my body still ached from fleeing the Guards, I managed to slip from under the covers and down the hall to where my father was; he would understand all this!

My tiny bare feet padded quietly on the hard wooden floor as I traipsed down the hall to the study. The loud guffaws of his colleagues echoed up our grand staircase; they were apparently having a jolly good time! As I passed my parents' bedroom, a floorboard creaked underneath me, "_Drat_!" I groaned to myself.

I waited on my mother to send me back to bed alone, but she must've already been in a deep sleep, for she didn't utter a word. Slowly but surely, I edged my way down the steps and through the long hallway to the door of the study.

My father and a few of his friends, Lord Ascot and two other men, were all seated around the fireplace, discussing some formal business. I didn't understand a bit of it, but if my father was excited by it, it must have been a wonderful thing! The three other men obviously weren't aware of this; they just sat there with skeptical looks pointed at my father.

"Charles, you have finally _**lost**_ it!" Lord Ascot exclaimed.

"This venture is _**impossible**_!" another of the men scoffed.

My father smirked and turned on his heel to face them, "For some, yes, but the only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it _**is**_ possible." he replied.

I pondered this for a moment…

The man in the entirely-too-tight black suit shook his head, "That kind of thinking could _**ruin**_ you!"

"I'm willing to take that chance. Imagine trading posts in Rangoon, Bangkok, Jakarta…" he flailed his arms about, picturing the faraway and exotic ports he had just mentioned, no doubt. His enthusiastic, bright eyes fell on me, standing in the doorway like a ghost of some sort; pale skin and bright white nightgown. The dark circles under my half-closed eyes must've given me away, "The nightmare again…?" he inquired softly.

I only nodded in response.

My father strode across the room and scooped me into his strong arms, "Gentlemen, I shan't be long." And with that, he carried me back to bed.

He tucked my covers around me and sat down next to me. His gaze was filled with alarm and curiosity all at once, "Tell me what happened Alice." Father patted my hand comfortingly. He understood, he cared, he was always there for me.

I gave him every detail of my adventure, save for the fact that Ilosovic had been arrested and condemned to be stuck with the Queen until his end… or hers, perhaps… if he was lucky enough. One could only hope for such things, as dreadful as that sounds for a girl of my age to think, "First, I fell… down a dark rabbit hole, and through a long tunnel. Then, I saw…strange creatures…" my voice cracked before I could go on.

This definitely caught his attention, "What kind of creatures?"

"Well, there's a Dodo Bird, a White Rabbit in a waistcoat, a smiling Cat…"

"I didn't think cats smiled…" he wore a grin himself, and a contagious one at that!

I smiled and shrugged, "Neither did I… and there was a blue Caterpillar."

As I was struggling to think of its name, my father's forehead creased, his eyebrow arched, "A blue Caterpillar?" he asked, as if it sparked some flame of memory, maybe a dream of his own from his childhood.

"Do you think…that I've gone round the bend?" I whimpered, having noticed his worried expression.

His warm hand pressed on my temple, much like the family doctor's would have, had he been checking for a fever, "It appears to be so, Miss Kingsleigh. You're mad, bonkers, totally off your head !" he looked so grave and serious. I fought to suppress a shiver; I was loony! Crazy! Out of my wits! Surely now they would send me to the asylum for this! "But, do you want to know a secret? _All the best people are_." Father reassured me.  
>I couldn't help but giggle.<p>

"It's just a dream Alice, nothing can harm you there. But, if you get too frightened, you can always wake up like this…" he lightly pinched my arm. Not so hard that it actually hurt, but it still made me squeal in surprise… and as "revenge" I pinched him back. He kissed me goodnight and left me to the fitful, dreamless sleep that followed…if what had just happened was just a dream, why did it seem so _**REAL**_?

The flashback ends, with me still standing in the forest. I shake off the light-headed feeling from the déjà vu and continue my search for the bodies belonging to the voices of "Tarrant", "Mally" and "Thackery", whomever they might be. I'm becoming rather lonely, and would much appreciate some company - _**ANY**_ company will suffice!

The trio sound as though they're on the other side of a large pine tree off to my left, so, naturally, I decide to peek around it to check. And lo and behold, I found them!

The three of them are seated around a long oak table, mismatching tea sets lay askew all around them, and they looked a right mess themselves.

"There you are! We've been expecting you Alice!" one of the boys chirped gleefully. His extremely bright, lime green eyes sparkled in a way I thought only stars could, and his scarlet red hair seemed to brighten just by being near me. I haven't the slightest idea why, but his strange gaze was ever so inviting and friendly, I just couldn't resist plunking down next to him and returning his gap-toothed smile (_his top, right-hand tooth was completely missing_).

"What took ya so long? We thought surely Iracebeth and her _'Jabberbabywocky'_ had gotten to ya, if not the Bandersnatch." the only other girl at the tea party, Mally I suppose, asks with a bit of sarcasm to her high-pitched voice.

"Mally _**please**_! Don't frighten her with that gibberish!" the boy interjected, "Never mind her… she's just jealous is all. My name is Tarrant Hightopp, by the way." Tarrant's face beamed brightly as his grin widened. I don't know why he was so happy to see me, we'd never even met from what I can remember, but I felt oddly familiar with him for some reason… curiouser and curiouser!

Mally was rather indignant about his previous comment, but she didn't utter another word about such creatures as the Bandersnatch or Jabberwocky. She did, however, tell me that her full first name was Mallymkun, she despised wearing dresses (_she was wearing boy's breeches and a tunic to prove the point_), she carried a "sword" (_a hatpin_), and that she was quite an opponent to be reckoned with - despite the fact the poor mouse was only about four inches tall and skinny as a twig besides! I dared not say anything of that nature though; I wouldn't want to offend her, whether she possessed a "_deadly_" hatpin or not. I wanted this dream to end in a better fashion than the last one I had, not losing any of my friends was my main priority tonight.  
>Thackery is reluctant to speak, being preoccupied by a rather shiny spoon in his hand. The young March Hare stares intently at the piece of silverware as though he expects it to do something amazing like speak or turn cartwheels in the air (<em>of course, none of that occurs<em>). Tarrant tries to get him to talk, but all he'll do is blurt random things out in the middle of the conversation; we decide to let him be after awhile.

"So Alice, have you met Mirana of Marmoreal yet? She's a delightful girl, that one! Nothing like that bumbling buffoon of a sister she's got; Iracebeth of Crims… you dealt with that little monster a few years ago, didn't you? Poor Ilosovic! The Knave was a good friend of mine actually… and he rather fancies my cousin Luna…she fancies him as well. The White Queen, that's Mirana, introduced them not long ago at one of her masquerade balls I believe it was. I certainly dread giving her the news of his capture… she won't be very happy! Neither will her Majesty…" he continues on, rambling constantly without a single breath in between sentences! I cannot comprehend how he doesn't collapse in his seat, nor how I understand every word he said as fast as they're rolling out.

Mally, the Dormouse, rolls her eyes and lets out an exasperated "_**HATTER**_!" stopping him before he can get another word in edgewise.

"Thank you Mally… I'm fine!"

I cast him a confused glance, "Hatter? But, I thought your name was Tarrant…"

"It is. He's a hatter's apprentice though, so almost everyone in town calls him 'hatter'; just like his father. He made the very hat sitting on his head, as a matter of fact." she answers for him. I hadn't noticed his emerald green top-hat with its mauve, silk ribbon and assorted hat-making utensils perched on his head until Mally mentioned it.

"It's gorgeous! You are tremendously skilled for someone our age; I don't know a single person back home that could produce something so marvelous!" I can't help but gawk at the intricate pattern of golden thread woven into the contrasting felt background.

His porcelain white cheeks flush a rosy pink and his eyes lock with mine, "Thank you…Would you like one?"

"A hat? From you? Of course, I'd be delighted! Are you sure it won't be too much trouble?" I was almost too giddy to speak.

He shakes his head, "No no! It's quite alright… I don't mind." Our eyes still lost in one another's, we both smile and leap up from the table. As Tarrant reaches for my hand, and I for his, we sprint down a narrow path. The others quickly follow suit, calling after us and laughing; all of us tumbling down the grassy hills and dancing through the trees.  
>I've no idea where exactly it is that we're going, but I can only assume that I'll have quite a tale to tell afterwards!<p> 


End file.
